Monday, 29 May 2017

My brother asked me a very interesting question last time I came to visit. He’s an author, and we were talking about why we do what we do.

“If you had to pick two games to demonstrate - to someone who’d never seen video games before - what games are to you, what would they be?”

Originally he asked me to do it in one game, but I couldn't describe the entire medium in one example. Trying to do it in two was much more interesting. You can't describe an entire medium in two examples, but the process of trying to do so is very telling about your perspective as a developer.

I’m going to talk about the two games I chose, but this piece is only partly about the games and why I chose them. It’s also about why the question is interesting in the first place. Eventually it’s a question about Ian Bogost and whether or not games can tell stories.

Indie developer behind Greedy Bankers and Slamjet Stadium for iOS, and Tap Happy Sabotage for Windows 8.
Alistair develops games for mobile, tablet and big-scale touchscreens, as well as custom hardware for public installations. He also does the artwork and animation for all his games.
Alistair's games often involve physical contact, encouraging cheating and social interaction. He also works in education, creating Maths learning games for Sparx Ltd in Exeter.
Nominated for Best Developer in the 2014 Pocket Gamer Awards, and winner of the Media Choice award at IndieCade 2015.